OBJECTIVE Adipose tissue shows a high degree of plasticity, and adipocyte hyperplasia is an important mechanism for adipose tissue expansion. Different adipose depots respond differently to an increased demand for lipid storage. Orchestrating cellular expansion in vivo requires extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and a high degree of interaction between cells and ECM. METHODS We studied dec...

Adipose-derived stem cells are a kind of mesenchymal stem cells which have a higher frequency in the adipose tissue and can be harvested by minimally invasive procedures. These cells are able to differentiate into other cells outside their lineage such as neuron, neurotrophic factor secreting cells and Schwann cells. Many of the identified neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic...

Adult Stem Cells (ASCs), by definition, are unspecialized or undifferentiated cells that not only retain their ability to divide mitotically while still maintaining their undifferentiated state but also given the right conditions, have the ability to differentiate into different types of cells including cells of different germorigin – an ability referred to as transdifferentiation or plasticity...

The emerging field of regenerative medicine will require a reliable source of stem cells in addition to biomaterial scaffolds and cytokine growth factors. Adipose tissue represents an abundant and accessible source of adult stem cells with the ability to differentiate along multiple lineage pathways. The isolation, characterization, and preclinical and clinical application of adipose-derived st...